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‘Padmavati’ row: Bhansali’s effigy burnt in Mumbai (Watch video)

After manhandling Sanjay Leela Bhansali and damaging ‘Padmavati’
sets in Jaipur, followed by torching of film’s set in Kohlapur, now the protesters
have burnt the effigy of the filmmaker in Nallasopara, near Mumbai.

The incident happened on Saturday and the protestors, said to be belonging to Karni Sena, screamed slogans that they will not allow the film to release. A video of the
incident has also surfaced on internet.

In the wee hours of Wednesday (March 15), at about 2 am,
about 40-50 unidentified people set fire to the sets of Bhansali’s magnum opus ‘Padmavati’
in at the Masai Pathar near Kolhapur. They attacked the set with torches and
petrol bombs, causing great damage to it.

Earlier in January, activists of Rajput Karni Sena assaulted
Bhansali and vandalised the sets of the period drama when the crew was shooting
for the film at Jaigarh Fort in Rajasthan’s Jaipur. The attackers alleged that Bhansali
had distorted historical facts in the movie.

Karni Sena state president Mahipal Makrana claimed that the
movie depicts love scenes between Rani Padmini of Chittor and Alauddin Khilji.
However, the makers have repeatedly denied any such scenes in the movie. Bhansali
had even shifted the shooting location from Rajasthan to Maharashtra.

Deepika Padukone, who plays the titular role of Rani
Padmavati, too has assured that that is no such scene in the film, but the protests
and attacks against the filmmaker and his movie doesn’t seem to end.

The two attacks have already caused a lot of financial loss
to the makers.

Also starring Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, ‘Padmavati’
is scheduled to release in November this year, but if such attacks continue, it
is unlikely that the film will make it in time.